On Monday morning, Seth and Chris sat at their computers and Chris' hand forecast. The others waited to see what the plan for the day would be.
Chris leaned in and spoke low to Seth. After a brief conversation, Seth nodded in agreement with Chris.
"We'll head out around two. It doesn't seem too promising, but storms could develop in the later afternoon. Tomorrow will be the better day, but if there is a chance today, I don't want to miss it." Chris announced his decision to the team.
Hunter nodded. "A chance is a chance. We've caught our best storms on a chance day. Adam, are you up to it?" He looked at the injured blond, brow arched.
"I've been thinking about it. Yes, I am up to it, but what if Dean rides with us, and just for today, Roman goes with Shawn? I can film from the car, but not from the field. I can't run. It's up to you, Chris." Adam expressed his idea to the group.
Chris looked at Roman. "Okay with you and Dean? Shawn?" He was happy with the plan, if the others were.
Dean spoke first. "I'd be proud to do it. After all, it's my fault..."
"No, Dean." Adam interrupted the auburn haired college student. "It's not your fault. I should not have climbed up there. So please, stop feeling guilty. I need you to be on point and not worried about me. So, that is the last time you are going to say that. Okay, my Padawan?" He gave Dean a very hard look.
Dean nodded. "Okay, no more guilt. I'll do what ever Chris wants, but as I said, I'll be glad to help Obi-Wan as much as possible." He gave Adam a wink and a very saucy grin.
"Well, at lease you didn't call me Yoda." Adam gave a laugh from his nest of pillows on the bed.
"Nah, you're not that old or green. Well… you were a little green yesterday, but I would have been too." Dean again gave a wink and an even saucier grin. It made both Roman and Seth happy to see Dean so happy.
Chris chimed in. "I dunno, Dean. He is kind of old and wrinkly..." he too winked at Adam. Adam huffed and stuck his tongue out at Chris with a pout.
After everyone laughed, Chris continued. "Now, I think plan will work out. I can drive ROW if the need arises. I would just put Dean behind the wheel of Rover, but, he doesn't have the experience getting in to probe firing position. That is not a slight against you, Dean. Pay attention to Hunter so you can learn. It won't hurt to have another probe driver. Especially since I have to stay with the ROW." He explained in a thought filled tone.
"I've wondered about that. We need a back up probe driver. Dean is a good choice. It has to be someone fearless but cautious. You are perfect, Dean. Okay, then. I need to go shopping with Shawn. We have time. Who wants what for lunches?" Hunter pulled out a notepad and wrote down the groceries people requested.
While Shawn, Hunter and Seth went shopping, Roman and Dean went to make sure everything was perfect with ROW and Rover.
Adam sat on the bed and sorted through his camera equipment and supplies. Chris sat behind his laptop and in the background, the Weather Channel played on the television. It was a routine they were cozy and comfortable with.
At 2:30 in the afternoon, the Jericho storm team was in place. Scout was twenty miles to the south, south east from ROW. Rover was ten miles to the west, north west from ROW. They were in the ideal positions to catch any storms that happened to roll in.
Chris' radar was zeroed in to a thirty mile radius. That way Chris would have a closer look at the storms they were monitoring. Seth's radar was set to a fifty mile vector so he could monitor any further storms coming into the area.
"Boss, looks like something is trying to get together but, it's not quite in range. Permission to widen out to sixty." Seth asked as his fingers hovered over the keys that would make the change.
Chris leaned over and looked at Seth's computer screen. "Any warnings?" He asked first. Re-vectoring the radar was not that simple. It took a few minutes and then a few more minutes for the radar to catch up to real time.
Seth clicked a few keys. "No warnings, but there is a tornado watch and a severe thunderstorm watch one county out of our range." He gave his report with an adjustment to his glasses.
"Keep an eye on warnings, if we get one, then you can re-vector. It's a pain to lose that real time for fifteen minutes, but smart catch. You're doing a great job, Seth." Chris gave the young man a smile.
Seth grinned. "Okay. Yeah, I forgot about the real time delay. I need to make a note. Yep, I will keep an eye out." He kept his eyes on the screen.
Chris gave a laugh. "Yeah, it took me a while to remember the delay." He had his eyes on his own screen.
"ROW, this is Scout, ROW, this is Scout." Shawn's voice called out from the radio.
Chris responded. "Go ahead, Scout."
"Chris, we can see some development about thirty miles to our southwest. Caps are growing to around fifty to sixty thousand." Shawn gave his report.
Chris looked over at Seth's screen. He could see that the spot on the radar had gotten bigger. "Scout, keep us posted. Get Roman to run some thermal footage and send it to Seth." He gave his instructions to Shawn. Shawn responded that he would get Roman filming and send it.
"Okay, Seth. Vector out the radar, it's getting worth it." Chris gave the go ahead for the adjustment.
Seth gave Chris a nod and his fingers flew over the key. "I'm gonna work on getting the real time delay out of the system. Dunno if I can, but, I can try." He contemplated as he waited for the Doppler radar to reset.
Chris made a grunt. "You can try. Wurman's VORTEX crew couldn't do it and they had MIT Grads on the team."
Seth gave a snarl. "MIT sucks shit and so did VORTEX. You should have been the head of that team. You created the ground work. Fuck Wurman." Seth spoke with anger.
"What do you know about that? But, I happen to agree with you." Chris gave Seth an arched brow. He didn't like to waste time thinking about it any more.
Seth looked at Chris. "Your article, that Adam wrote for the magazine that went with the television special. It only confirmed a few things I'd heard around the campus. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I just think they were wrong." He gave Chris an apologetic look.
"It's okay. You just read between Adam's lines really well. It's what drove me into chasing and taking stupid risks. I vowed to get better footage of tornadoes that VORTEX ever could. I did, but, I was really lucky I wasn't killed. I did bad things before I met Adam." Chris confessed with a wistful expression.
"But, you got some fantastic footage. VORTEX is history, yet here you are, still getting the best data." Seth gave Chris a wink.
Before Chris could respond, the radar came back up to real time. At the exact same moment, the NWS radio broadcast a tornado warning and both Scout and Rover reported it. Both Chris and Seth wished they had four hands. Sending the teams out came first.
Chris spoke to Scout and Rover. "Do what you need to do. Don't be stupid though. If you get a chance for land or rocket probes, try it. ROW out."
Seth removed the headphones he'd worn while Chris spoke on the radio. "Tornado warning for Parmer, Deaf Smith and Oldham. If it stays on track, it's gonna hit Potter county, but it will miss Amarillo. Looks to track northwest of the city." He repeated what the National Weather Service had reported.
"Gotta love these slight risk days. Roman's footage is so interesting. You can actually see the warm and cold air mix. What's the predicted damage path?" Chris watched Roman's thermal footage. Apparently, he and Shawn had not yet moved.
Seth pushed a couple of keys on his computer. A wedge of red projected over the radar image. It was the projected path the tornado would take once it touched down. With another press of keys, the image changed to an earth view map. Seth pushed up his glasses and closely studied the computer screen.
"Good news. Looks like mostly fields. There is one housing section, but, the tornado should miss it by half a mile, but if it wobbles… still better than the middle of town." Seth moved so Chris could look.
"You… how did you… over earth map? Seth, you are a genius. Weather Channel doesn't even do that. Maybe you can fix the boot up real time delay. Great work." Chris was proud of his student. He felt rather bad that a week ago, he disliked Seth as competition. That had been stupid, Seth only enhanced the team.
Seth flushed a bit. "I just do my job. I'll try, Chris. Looks like the storm is getting tighter. Bet we have a tornado soon."
Chris went to respond, but got a radio call instead. "ROW, this is Scout. We've got a funnel, we've got a funnel. It's about to touch down. Too far from us to get a land probe. Gonna send you more thermal from Roman. Then we are going to move." Shawn's voice was filled with excitement.
"Scout, this is ROW. Fine about the probe. You're in the warning area so be careful. That's the only storm right now, but you know how they can pop corn. ROW out." Chris spoke to Shawn as he kept his eye on the radar.
At the Range Rover, Adam was growling and frustrated. "Damn it. I wanna film, that is a beautiful funnel. Dean is good, but he has so much to learn about angles and lighting." He slapped his left knee as his foot rested on the dashboard. The effect of the slap ran down his leg and sparked pain in his ankle. It was enough to make Adam cry out.
Hunter reached over and laid a hand on Adam's shoulder. "Easy, kid. You can't let Dean hear you like this. His confidence is just building. I am sure he will get great footage. You can still take pictures. I'll move in closer." He honked the horn three times. It was was the signal for Dean to hurry back to the truck.
Adam sighed. "Sorry, Hunt. You're right, Dean does a great job. I just hate it when I do something stupid that keeps me from working." He gave Hunter an apologetic look.
Hunter chuckled. "I can understand, but you weren't stupid, just… um… clumsy." He gave Adam a wink.
Adam stuck his tongue out at Hunter just as Dean opened the back passenger door and jumped in. He panted a bit from his run down the road with heavy camera gear.
"It's such a photographic storm. The funnel is graceful. I tried to get some different lighting, look." Dean passed Adam his camera as Hunter sped to a new location.
Adam squinted to look at the pictures in the smaller lens but he was surprised. "Dean, you have been listening to me. It is graceful, look at that. STOP! Dean, film!" Adam nearly scared Hunter to death when he screamed.
Dean grabbed his camera and dashed out of the Rover to film the oddly beautiful funnel cloud. The funnel was a long, skinny tube. It bent and curved as it worked its way down to the ground. It looked like a ribbon of silk blowing in the wind. It was a graceful thing of beauty as it danced in the sky, that could turn deadly once it touched down on the ground as a tornado.
Hunter adjusted the angle of the Rover so Adam could take still pictures from the passenger window. Adam used all three of his cameras, the color, sepia and black and white. He knew Cole or Shane would snap up the pictures as fast as he took them.
At the Scout truck, Roman stood on the roof and used the thermal FLIR camera relay with the drone. They were close enough to the artistic funnel for the thermal camera, yet far enough to keep the drone out of the strong winds.
At ROW, Seth and Chris were mesmerized by the images of the graceful funnel cloud, Roman sent. "Look at that motion. How can something so beautiful be so deadly?" Seth asked Chris in a thoughtful tone. He knew it was a rhetorical question.
Chris gave a wry chuckle. "That, my dear Seth, is the eternal question. Another one we may never get the answer to. We can but try."
In the car that looked like a red shoe, AJ Styles drove withing a quarter mile of the lowering funnel cloud. JoMo was nervous to be so close, but he kept his mouth shut. He couldn't afford to lose AJ. JoMo watched the computer but wasn't sure what to look for. AJ had only told him to look for a circle in the middle of a red and green area. So far, there was no circle.
"There is a red and green blob, but no circle." JoMo stated as he turned the laptop so AJ could glance at it.
AJ looked. "Good job. Keep watching." AJ drove and stayed on the trail of the storm. He didn't shoot a single picture or shoot a foot of film. Adam would have no competition, unless AJ was able to drive into the middle of the tornado if and when it touched down. AJ, hadn't told JoMo about that part.
At the Scout truck, Roman quickly landed the drone, packed it away and got behind the steering wheel. The funnel cloud was only several hundred yards off the ground. It was still very graceful. It was in an open spiral formation, like a loose curl of hair, instead of tightly coiled spring.
Roman stayed well behind the storm in a safety zone that Chris had laid out before they had ever left Norman. Shawn felt as safe and comfortable as when Hunter was behind the wheel. It was a good feeling.
"Is it gonna come down or not?" Roman asked as he slowed the flame red truck to a stop.
Shawn looked at the college student. "To be honest, I am not sure. It has enough power, but it is ropy. Then again, Andover started off the same way." Shawn's voice shrugged with his shoulders.
At the Range Rover, Dean stood on a small hill and filmed. He'd put the still camera on a tripod and it shot a frame every fifteen seconds. Dean's only goal was to please Adam. He worked hard to do exactly what Adam would do. Dean especially felt the pressure because Adam was injured.
With a final blast of wind, that nearly knocked Dean off his feet, the beautiful funnel cloud just drew into itself and vanished. The chase was over as fast as it had begun.
Chris got on the radio and called his team back to the ROW. They had to decide what to do next. There was still a watch out for the Amarillo area.
AJ Styles let out a curse. He turned the car towards Amarillo. JoMo spoke up. "Hey sexy, will you drop me off downtown? I'd like to do some shopping. I can get an Uber back to the hotel." He'd found a gun shop, that could probably help him. Part of their ad on their website stated 'no questions asked about custom guns.' It sounded perfect.
AJ's mood had changed. "Oh sexy shopping?" He looked over at JoMo and wiggled his brows.
JoMo flashed AJ a sex laced smirk. He he had to appease AJ as best he could. "Maybe." His voice had a sing song tone.
"Okay then, pet. Don't be too long, a chase always makes my dick hard." AJ gave JoMo a rather demanding look.
JoMo sighed internally and hoped his angel Drew appreciated what he was doing to get revenge. "I'll try to hurry. But, I promise, when I get back, I'll ride your dick like a wild stallion. It will be the night of your life, baby." JoMo sealed his words with a kiss to AJ's cheek.
An hour later, JoMo left the gun shop a very satisfied customer. He'd been surprised, the gun shop had exactly what he'd wanted, in stock. A gun that looked exactly like a paint ball gun.
It hadn't been easy, but once he started talking and flashing money, the owner took him to the secret stock room. JoMo had a feeling it wasn't legal, because there was no paper work and no questions. JoMo also had a feeling that if he ever let anyone know where the gun had come from, it would be his last day on earth. He wasn't wrong.
JoMo made a quick stop to a sex shop a few doors down from the gun shop. He bought a very sexy thong and some chocolate body paint. That should make AJ happy. He smiled as the Uber driver drove him to the hotel where AJ waited.
The Jericho team was still out in the field. A few storms had developed and the group voted to wait them out. You never knew when a tornado would form. When the storms weakened and faded, the team called it a day.
Once again the Jericho's hotel room was the headquarters for the after chase debriefing. Adam quickly downloaded both his and Dean's cameras. Dean had taken several excellent pictures, along with a few duds. But, over all Adam was very pleased with Dean's work.
Adam put together the package to email to Cole. This package was better for the news than Shane and the magazine. He included some of his video, but it was mostly Dean's. Adam sent the email to Michael Cole. Five minutes later, Adam's cell phone rang. He motioned for Dean to join him.
Adam put his phone on speaker. "Hey, Adam. What a fantastic funnel cloud. Say, I know you want to help Dean and he's really good, but, we need your work Adam." Cole was friendly, but he also sounded confused.
Dean started to speak, but Adam halted him. "Yeah, I wish I could have sent more. I nearly busted my ankle yesterday and I am off it for a couple of days. So, it's Dean's work or nothing." Adam explained to his broker.
"Oh, sorry to hear that. I hope you're not in too much pain. Dean's work is fantastic, I don't have a problem with it at all. I just want to make sure to keep your name at number one. Don't worry, I will sell the hell outta these. Save some for Shane, the magazine will eat these up. I'll credit your accounts..." Cole was interrupted by Dean.
"Mister Cole, this is Dean Ambrose. Thank you for buying my photos at a fair price. This time though, put my money in the chase account, or what ever Adam does. This is team money, not just mine. I insist." Dean looked hard at Adam as he spoke to Cole. He was serious about not taking money for himself.
"Not a problem, Dean. Will do. Keep learning from Adam. You've improved so much in only a few days. Who knows, buy the end of the season, I may have a new number one. Gotta go, send the rest ASAP, I've go buyers waiting." The cell phone clicked as Cole ended the call.
"Dean, that wasn't necessary. You earned that money for yourself." Adam protested to the younger man.
Dean shook his head. "No, this was for the team. It's not like you could take the team pictures, so I did. I'm happy I got enough good ones to earn a good bit for the team. Please Adam, let me do this." He looked at Adam with a mixture of pride and happiness. He was proud and happy, Dean had worked hard and it had paid off.
"Well, just this once. I am proud of you, Dean. You did really well today. I'll admit I was rather frustrated that I couldn't take the pictures myself. You proved I don't have to worry." Adam gave Dean a pat on the back.
Dean smiled and went to work with Adam, to pick out enough pictures and video to fill out the order Cole had placed. As usual, Chris and Seth were behind their computers. Roman and Hunter were outside and did a bit of maintenance on the vehicles. Shawn was busy making sandwiches in his and Hunter's room, where all the coolers were stored. He was happy to do it. It was his job to keep the coolers full and make sure they always had plenty to snack on. Hungry storm chasers were never a good thing.
Shawn carried two large paper plate patters of sandwiches into the Jericho's room. He went back and got a stack of plastic ups and a gallon of milk. The third trip brought a sack of apples and a few cans of potato chips. He called Roman and Hunter in to eat. Everyone took a break, washed up and enjoyed the delicious sandwiches Shawn had prepared.
Shawn was glad to see Roman down four cups of milk, Dean managed three and half and Seth drank three. They each ate two apples. Roman gave Shawn a wink and finished off his second apple. Shawn gave him a wink in return.
When they finished eating, Chris went over the plans to the next days weather chase. "I think the same areas are the best. The cold front is going to strengthen out over the plains. The warm air cap is also stronger. We will at least get thunderstorms. What I want is for you to get a probe up, but only if it's not a tornadic storm. I want to compare some data. Why a storm with tornadic potential never forms a tornado." Chris gave his thoughts with a serious voice.
Hunter spoke up. "That should be easy enough to do. What if we the probe up and then minutes later, it produces a tornado?" He was equally serious and thoughtful.
Chris rubbed his chin. "Well, it's a risk, but then we might also get data on formation. We can't have too much data on anything." He stated firmly.
Over across the street, JoMo had just stepped out of his after sex shower. He was in a great mood. He planned to carry out his revenge on Adam during tomorrows chase. When JoMo was dry, groomed and dressed, he stepped out into the main hotel room. AJ was on his laptop while the Weather Channel played on the television in the background.
"The highest chance for tornadoes is in the Texas Panhandle region. The towns of Amarillo, Hereford, Vega, Channing and Canyon are in the affected area. We urge all citizens in the Panhandle area to be watchful and please, prepare your shelter areas now." The announcer on the TV spoke in an authoritative tone. JoMo listened intently. Perfect, Chris should be an easy target.
AJ looked up from behind his computer. "Better pack up tonight. First thing in the morning we're heading up to Spearman, up in Hansford County. I am gonna win over Jericho. He's gonna pick the wrong place for once." He closed his laptop with a satisfied smirk.
JoMo couldn't believe what AJ had just said. "But AJ, baby, they didn't even mention Spearman or Hansford County. They said Amarillo, where we are. Why do you want to go up north?" He tried not to sound as upset as he was.
AJ stroked Morrison's cheek. "Calm down, pet. I know more than Jericho. The storms will develop here, but the action will be up north. Trust me, pet. Jericho will be forced to watch my footage on television tomorrow, I just know it." He kissed JoMo with a sloppy, wet kiss.
JoMo sighed. He had to stay on AJ's good side. He had time, he just had to keep the gun well hidden. "Okay, babe. I would love to see Jericho's expression when that happens. I'll get packed then, and be ready to go." He gave AJ a soft smile. He then went to help his lover pack. One thing John Morrison had was patience, and with AJ Styles as his partner, they were sorely tested.
In the morning, at a local diner, Chris watched his laptop. He wanted to be extra sure they were staying in the right place. Kevin Nash and his little group were at the same restaurant.
Kevin stopped at the Jericho table. "Hey guys, want to hear the latest? AJ is going to Spearman, says he's got you outsmarted. Can you believe that guy?" He laughed a bit.
Chris shook his head. "Stupid idiot. Well, he's the one that's going to miss out. Look, we're going here…." Chris only trusted one person outside his own crew and that was Kevin.
Jericho pointed out their chase area. Kevin responded. "Cool. We won't be in each others way. We're going down here. Good luck, guys. I hope you probe today." He shook Chris' hand and left.
"He really is a nice guy. I hope he gets his intercept vehicle into a tornado before asshole does. Even if it will be the footage of the year." Adam stated as he watched Kevin and his three man crew drive off in the tank like vehicle.
Shawn watched as well. "I hope he lives through it. Don't forget, his goal is different. He's doing it for a film. Kevin isn't really in competition with us." He said a silent prayer for Kevin and his team.
Adam nodded. "That's true. He's already said he's keeping all his footage until he edits his movie. I really do hope he gets his in a tornado shot. He's been trying for six or seven years. Maybe he's due this season."
"Me too, I really do, but we need to get moving." Chris stated as he closed his laptop and finished off his breakfast. Everyone took the cue and finished up their meals as well.
The waitress returned with six coffee filled thermos bottles, two for each vehicle. Hunter and Chris stayed to pay. Dean let Adam lean on his shoulder as he limped to the black Range Rover. Adam's ankle felt better, but he was still unable to stand long enough to film for any length of time.
Adam gingerly sat in the passenger seat. "Argh! It's really hurting now. It was better this morning. Why is it so bad again now. Feels like a billion bees stinging me." The blond whined like a toddler with a dirty diaper.
Den shrugged and felt bad, but he couldn't take Adam's pain away. Shawn spoke up. "Could be the weather. The air pressure is dropping. I feel it in my back. You want the ice or some aspirin?" He gave Adam a look of pity.
Adam nodded. "Both, please. I'm sorry about your back, Shawn. Bouncing on those dirt roads. You're probably right, about the weather. I shouldn't complain, poor people with arthritis." Adam had a guilty expression on his face.
"Oh, thanks, Dean." Shawn stated when Dean appeared and held out the bottle of aspirin and the filled ice bag.
"Glad to help." Dean replied as he helped Adam settle into the passenger seat, and placed the bag of ice on Adam's ankle. Shawn gave Adam two aspirin to take, and sent four more along for later in the day.
For Adam's sake, the team gathered around the Rover instead of the ROW for the final instructions for the day. Chris held a handful of papers, including his own hand drawn map and forecast. As much as he'd grown to respect Seth, he would always trust his own years of experience and knowledge over a computer. A computer could never register the "feeling" the weather had. Nor could a computer match the Native American tradition of "the twisting dust."
"Okay, I made a few adjustments. On the same road you were on yesterday, Shawn. I want you and Roman to go ten miles further from your observation point yesterday. Hunter, go five miles further northwest. I checked, there is a road with exits if you get a chance to launch. Any questions?" Chris looked at his team with an arched brow.
Hunter responded. "Are you moving as well?" He was a bit surprised at the changes, last night Chris had said yesterday's positions were perfect for today.
Chris nodded. "Yeah, about five miles further. Look, yesterday the cold front was here..." He pointed to the map he'd drawn last night, then continued. "This morning, it shifted to here, and the jet stream is here. We are going to get a twister. The upper level winds were already starting to rotate. No warm air yet, but give the heat a couple of hours to build. So, let's get going. Shawn?" Chris had shown Hunter the map he'd drawn at the restaurant that morning.
"Circle, please." Shawn asked softly. That all held hands. Adam turned in his seat, Chris took his left hand, Dean his right, and the circle formed from there. Shawn gave his prayer asking for guidance and protection from the storms as they worked to gather data to help people. He also asked to keep people safe during nature's rages. When the prayer ended, the couples and trio kissed. Chris and Seth watched as Scout and Rover left.
Chris got behind the wheel of the ROW. Seth sat in the passenger seat and quickly buckled up. He trusted Chris, but he wasn't Roman.
Just as Chris parked the ROW, off the side of a nearly abandoned country road, the NWS radio went off.
"This is Mesoscale Discussion two eight seven nine, from the NWS Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Ten forty-nine AM. Central, May tenth. Areas affected are the central Texas Panhandle, including the city of Amarillo. Concerning severe potential tornado watch likely to be valid, one two seven five three z through one three nine four eight two z. Trends are being closely monitored for signs of convective initiation. Although timing is a bit uncertain, one or more tornado watches will probably be required by early afternoon…." The announcer went on to give a rather lengthy description of the same weather formation Chris had given his team before they had split up.
Chris pushed the buttons that unlocked the Doppler radar from it's safety position. It was kept stable as the ROW was on the road. It was incredibly sensitive. If it became unstable, it would take hours to reset and reboot. All the lights turned green for go. Chris always let out a sigh of relief when the last light turned green. He turned the radar on and he and Seth set to work.
Scout and Rover reported that they were in their places. "ROW, Scout. Towers are rapidly building, already to about forty-five thousand and building. One to the southwest, one due south and one directly in the center of the other two. If they expand and join, we're going to have a super cell. Our winds are flowing directly to the north. Roman is going to start the thermal as soon as he gets the drone up. You want the feed?" Shawn already had that tone of excitement he had just before a chase.
Chris responded. "Confirmed what I'm seeing on the radar. Yeah, as much as he can send. Move at your own will. When it breaks, you won't have time to ask. Stay safe, Scout. ROW out." Chris' eyes never left his computer, he too was excited.
Seth took stared at his screen. "I think..." He could finish, the NWS radio blared out a tornado watch in the previously predicted area. It wasn't a PDS, which was good, but still the threat of a "big one" was there.
After the watch announcement, Seth finished his previous thought. "It's going to be in a good spot. Open fields for miles, even better than it looked yesterday. It is a bit closer to the very north of Amarillo, but it's sparsely populated."
"Send me the map to overlay, please. Oh and when Roman's thermal comes in, let me know. I've really taken to that thermal camera. I want to get Adam one." Chris kept his eye on the three thunderheads Shawn had reported. They were clearly visible on his radar, as they had widened the vector from yesterday.
Several miles away, Adam and Hunter sat in the Range Rover. Dean stood in a field about a quarter mile from the vehicle. Adam knew if those three clouds joined up, they would produce something big, hail if nothing else.
"Hunter, I just can't film this way. Get me on the roof…. Please?" Adam looked over at the older man with huge, hazel eyes and a boyish pout.
Hunter rolled his eyes. "Put the pout away, Betty Boop. I am not your Lion. I'll do it, but if you hurt yourself, I take no responsibility." His tone was serious, but his amber eyes sparkled with mirth. He got out of the Rover so he could help Adam.
Adam felt much better, the ice and aspirin had helped a lot. "I will sit between the light bars. I'll be safe, not the first time I've been up there." He handed Hunter his camera bags.
Hunter put the bags on top of the car. It was easier for Adam to turn around and go up from the passenger door step. Hunter boosted Adam up with his shoulder. Adam easily pulled himself up onto the roof of the Rover. One thing about carrying a heavy news camera, it gave Adam strong upper body strength. Once he was up, he swung his legs up, with Hunter's help. When Adam was settled, Hunter handed Adam all his camera gear.
"Thanks, Hunter. Oh, this is much better. I'm good, safe and secure. Keep an ear to the radio." Adam was much happier now that he could film better footage.
Hunter laughed to himself. It certainly was interesting to drive around with Adam. He understood better how Adam was finally able to tame Chris Jericho. You couldn't be around Adam and stay salty and sour. Hunter slid into the driver's seat and turned the laptop to face in his direction.
Shawn stood on the roof of the Scout truck with Roman. The three areas of clouds grew like boiling water. Shawn observed something interesting.
"Roman, are the beaver tails joining?" Shaw wasn't sure if he saw what he thought he saw.
Roman focused the drone on the bottoms of the three clouds. The beaver tail of the northern most cloud stretched to the forming beaver tail of the cloud in the middle. Both tails were being pulled to the southern most cloud.
"Yeah, and there is a slight spin to them. You can see it better in the thermal. It picks up the mix of the cold and warm air." Roman nodded to the screen he held in his hand. The wind had begun to pick up.
"That thing could produce three funnels. You'd better bring the drone in." Shaw stated as the saw the first flash of lightening. A rumble of distant thunder echoed across the sky a few seconds later.
Roman agreed with Shawn's advice and brought the drone in. With Roman's guidance, Shawn reached out and grabbed the drone by the grab bar. Roman cut the engine. He took the cameras off the drone, the packed the flying machine into its bag.
Roman continued to film with the GoPro and Shawn used the FLIR thermal camera. The FLIR was more like holding a hand gun. Shawn, a hunter, had a very steady hand, which was better.
At the Radar On Wheels, Chris and Seth were excited. The way the beaver tails were forming held all kinds of unknown possibilities.
"Winds must be stronger, Roman brought the drone in. Wow, the thermal is much better. I mean I know the relay makes it a tad unsteady on the drone, but this is crystal clear." Seth pressed a button on his computer and sent the FLIR footage to Chris' computer.
Chris gave a low whistle. "That makes for more accurate readings...wait… isn't the hand hold of the FLIR shaped kind of like a gun?" He looked as Seth gave a nod. "That explains it, I bet Shawn is using it. He's a hunter, so he can hold a gun steady for a long time. I'm gonna ask." Chris picked up the radio mic. As he did, Seth put on a headset, just in case the NWS radio alerted.
Shawn did indeed confirm Chris' guess. "Well, no offense to Roman at all, but Shawn, you shoot the thermal when you can. It's your gunslinger skills. Keep an eye out, those beaver tails are really stirring up the atmosphere. Jet stream is about to slid into the picture. ROW out." Chris ended his call with a wink to Seth.
Seth held up a finger. He closed his eyes as to not be distracted from listening. A minute later he removed his headset and spoke.
"They have issued a PDS warning for the storm. Storm ocean is growing intense, tornado expected at any time." Seth relayed the radio alert.
"Not till the jet moves in, but it will shortly. I'm going to get a look. Tell Scout and Rover about the PDS. I'll be back." Chris got up and went outside. He climbed up the ladder that led to the roof of their "office". Chris had his camera. He took it out and began to film.
Chris trusted Seth to keep an eye on things. There wasn't anything to do until if and when a funnel dropped. Chris watched. Now one, huge long beaver tail flowed from the rear of the southernmost storm cloud. It looked just like a long, flat table in the sky. It was a perfectly straight line. The funnel would form at the base of the southern cloud.
As Scout, Rover and Chris at the ROW watched, the base of the joint of the beaver tail to the cloud, began to lower into a wall cloud. A funnel should soon start to form. Then, something else began to happen.
The three clouds had not joined together, nor had one been over powered by the other, which was the norm. Instead, a wall clouds began to form at the bases of the middle and northern clouds.
Lightening cracked from cloud to ground like electric fingers. Thunder rumbled, the winds blew harder. Mother Nature was in a rage and she was about to let loose like a woman scorned.
Adam, Dean, Shawn, Roman and Chris all had their cameras running full out. Dean's still camera clicked way every ten seconds. Everyone felt the shift in the wind, it blew warm and cool at the same time. The grasses and crops in the fields bent towards the clouds, then they suddenly changed direction and bent the other way. The change was so fast, the crops and grasses looked like buggy whips.
As the wall clouds boiled, the sky turned an eerie shade of greenish purple. The color came from the hail stones the swirled in the clouds before the pounded down to the ground. The color made the wall and storm clouds turn so black, they were nearly blue.
Suddenly, three fingers began to descend down to the ground. There wasn't one tornado, there were three!